Ambroise Vollard, Paris (acquired from the artist) 
Private Collection, Europe (and sold: Sotheby's, New York, November 5, 2008, lot 110a)
Acquired at the above sale

Canvas is not lined. Surface is slightly dirty and would benefit from a light cleaning. Colors are rich and vibrant. Under UV light: three minor strokes of inpainting are visible along the center of the top edge. Otherwise fine; work is in excellent condition.
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Many of Vlaminck's Fauve masterpieces were views of the river Seine; the tugboats, barges, yachts, bridges and towpaths seen at Charon, Bougival, Argenteuil and Pecq. The present work, Bord de rivière, le 14 juillet was probably painted during the first decade of the twen🍷tieth century on the banks of the Seine on the outskirts of Pa🔥ris.

Vlaminck's jubilant oil of Bastille Day celebrations along the Seine was influenced by a well-known series completed during the artist's Fauve period (see fig. 1). Depictions of this patriotic holiday figured in the work of several artists including Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, and Fauves such as Marquet and Dufy who best captured the exuberance of the day's commemorative festivities. The vibrant, tri-band colours of the French flag and the festive atmosphere were the perfect subjects for these 'wild beast' painters. In the present work, Vlaminck offers a new approach to this theme and its multiple connotations. In fact from 1908, like most of his Fauve contemporaries, Vlaminck had begun to move away from the violence of pure color and turn toward more muted tonalities and a more sober and rigorous composition. Here the artist𒊎 offers us a subtle representation of a peaceful summer day with brilliant colors.

During the transitional period between Fauvism and the more familiar output of his later years, the influence of Cézanne led to a major modification in Vlaminck's style. It is surely no coincidence that Cézanne featured in a number of important exhibitions in 1908 and 1909. The high-pitched color and slashing strokes of the Fauve years were balanced by more subdued tones and a smoother application of paint. Although Vlaminck's later work reveals a tempered palette compared to that of his Fauve period, the use of brighter yellows, greens and reds in the present work reveals the energy and continued influence of the Fauvist palette. This new style would earn him, two years later, this glowing review from Guillaume Apollinaire: "Maurice de Vlaminck is one of the most gifted painters of his generation. His vision is large, powerful: his sober and intense technique allows lines to retain all of their freedom, shapes all of their relief, colours all of their clarity, all of their beauty" (G. Apollinaire, L'intransigeant, March 16th, 1910).

Fig. 1  Maurice de Vlaminck, Le pont de Poissy, 1905, oil on canvas, sold: Sotheby'ꦫs, London, June 25, 2008, lot 4 for $4,275,226